AARP and WHO accept Honolulu’s Age-Friendly City plan

News Release from City and County of Honolulu October 28, 2015

Honolulu – Mayor Kirk Caldwell today announced that the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities in affiliation with the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved Honolulu’s Age-Friendly City Action Plan.  The WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities is an international effort launched in 2006 to help cities prepare for rapid population aging and the parallel trend of urbanization.

“The acceptance of Honolulu’s Action Plan is great news and the result of an entire community coming together to draw a roadmap that will make Honolulu safe, livable, and enjoyable for people of all ages,” said Mayor Caldwell.  “Now we must implement our action plan if we are to make our community user friendly for people of all ages.  Success will ensure that the people of Honolulu thrive even more.”

“Kudos to the Mayor and the community for developing a world class Age-friendly Plan with clearly defined outcomes and a rigorous timetable,” said AARP State Director Barbara Kim Stanton.  “Implementing this plan ensures that Honolulu will be an even better place to grow up and grow old in.”

The AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities is an affiliate of the WHO Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program that assists communities in the United States in becoming Age-Friendly.  The program has participating communities in more than 20 nations, as well as 10 affiliates representing more than 1,000 communities.  Honolulu is one of 70 communities in 27 states and the District of Columbia which has applied to be an Age-Friendly City.  With the approval of Honolulu's Action Plan, our city now joins only eight other communities in the nation with an approved Action Plan.

The acceptance of Honolulu’s plan is a significant milestone in a process that began four months into Mayor Caldwell’s term in May 2013 when the City and County of Honolulu applied for the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities and AARP’s National Network of Age-Friendly Communities.

The Action Plan was submitted to AARP and WHO in June, and its implementation phase authorization is valid until August 6, 2018.  Implementation of the plan can now begin.  Honolulu and AARP will review Honolulu’s implementation progress in the summer of 2018.

Honolulu’s Age-Friendly City leadership team is co-chaired by:

• Mary Ann Barnes, Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i President
• Dr. Michael Chun, former Kamehameha Schools Headmaster
• Sherry Menor McNamara, Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i President

Honolulu’s Age-Friendly City Steering Committee is co-chaired by:

• Tom Dinell, professor emeritus of the University of Hawai‘i Department of Urban and Regional Planning
• Mike Formby, Department of Transportation Services Director

The Citizens Advisory Committee is composed of more than one hundred volunteers representing a broad spectrum of companies and organizations across Honolulu, and who have shared their expertise in various domains, including housing, transportation, communications, and more.

The University of Hawai‘i Center on Aging served as the plan consultant and drafted the plan. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is the visionary sponsor of the Honolulu Age-Friendly City initiative.

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